1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to toy vehicle wheels and, more particularly, to mounting mechanisms for toy vehicle wheels.
2. Background Art
There are various types of toy vehicles on the market. Travel of a toy vehicle is often induced by manually pushing a toy vehicle, which has free rotating wheels. The wheels can freely rotate on an axle that is rotatably attached to the chassis of the toy vehicle. Travel can also be induced by an electrical motor powering rotation of the front or rear wheels or powering all four, as for example with radio controlled (RC) vehicles. There are also various other methods to induce travel.
Many toy vehicles have interchangeable parts such that the appearance of the vehicle can be modified or customized to the owner's choosing. This is particularly popular with RC toy vehicles. For example, various interchangeable body styles can be designed such that each body style will fit on the same chassis. There can be various mounting mechanisms for securely mounting and removing a body. There are also various toy vehicle designs that allow for tires/wheels and rims to be removed and replaced with a different styled wheel that is interchangeable. For example, various rim designs can be interchangeably paired with various tire/wheel designs. The various tire and rim combinations chosen can then be interchangeably installed on the wheel hub or axle that is rotatably attached a chassis.
Normally, the attachment and removal of rims and tire/wheels from a toy vehicle's wheel hub, when it is an option, requires the use of a tool to tighten or loosen a screw or bolt, usually a Philips head screwdriver or hex wrench. This can be challenging and even dangerous for younger children and time consuming for older individuals.
The nature of some toy vehicle concepts require that the assembly process be as quick and simple and safe as possible. A method and design is needed where the design allows wheels to be installed and removed that meets all three criteria. A design is needed that allows for a quick and easy way to manually attach, remove and replace rims on a wheel/tire assembly and the wheel/tire assembly on the wheel hubs at each end of a vehicle axle, without the use of any tools.